Flume boat ride with a double downchute

ABSTRACT

A flume amusement ride wherein passengers ride in boats that float on water flowing in water channels, the boats being guided by the walls of the water channel. A steep downchute portion is provided as part of the ride as a means of providing a thrill to the passengers. The downchute portion includes two adjacent water channels into which boats are alternately directed by a gate that is constructed of two parallel wall members hinged to the walls of the single water channel upstream of the downchute. Hold point brakes are provided in the channel at various locations for blocking passage to boats in order to control the boat movement and spacing.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,830,161

Bacon Aug. 20, 1974 FLUME BOAT RIDE WITH A DOUBLE Primary Examiner-LloydL. King DOWNCHUTE [75] Inventor: Karl W. Bacon, Mountain View,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Arrow Development Company,

Mountain View, Calif.

[22] Filed: July 6, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 377,145

[52] US. Cl. 104/70 [51] Int. Cl. A63g l/00, A63g 7/00, A63g 21/00 [58]Field of Search 104/70, 73

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,404,635 lO/l968 Bacon etal 104/70 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Limbach, Limbach & Sutton [5 7]ABSTRACT A flume amusement ride wherein passengers ride in boats thatfloat on water flowing in water channels, the boats being guided by thewalls of the water channel. A steep downchute portion is provided aspart of the ride as a means of providing a thrill to the passengers. Thedownchute portion includes two adjacent water channels into which boatsare alternately directed by a gate that is constructed of two parallelwall members hinged to the walls of the single water channel upstream ofthe downchute. Hold point brakes are provided in the channel at variouslocations for blocking passage to boats in order to control the boatmovement and spacing.

7 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PArimauwczm 3.886.161

sum aor 4 PATENIiumczolsu sumw 4 FIG .14.

FLUME BOAT RIDE WITH A DOUBLE DOWNCHUTE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention pertains to amusement rides in general, and more specificallyto improvements in flume boat rides.

Several flume boat rides are presently in operation and are popularamong amusement ride patrons. A water channel (flume) is provided forcarrying and guiding passenger carrying boats from a passenger loadingstation around a closed loop and back to the passenger loading stationagain. A preferred passenger loading station is of a rotary platformdescribed and claimed in co-pending patent application, Ser. No.351,509, filed Apr. 16, 1973. A portion of the water channel immediatelydownstream of the loading platform generally includes a portion whereinthe boats are raised to a high elevation. The boats then are carried bymoving water through the rest of the water channel back to the passengerloading station. Many variations in the water channel are provided inorder to make the flume ride an interesting and thrilling one to thepassengers.

One of these variations is a very steep downchute portion which has beenused in the past to accelerate the boats to a high velocity by the timethey reach the bottom of the downchute. Since the water in the downchuteportion also moves at a high velocity and thus flows at a lesser depththan in the main channel, the boats are provided with wheels that rideon the bottom of the channel in the downchute portion since there is notenough depth of water to keep them afloat. Some existing singledownchutes on flume rides provide for separating the water from thechannel into a pond at the bottom of the downchute. Water from this pondis then slowly fed back into the water channel at the end of thedownchute so that the boats leaving the downchute into the more flatportions of the water channel are slowed down by the water. The pond isa means of slowing down the water which has fallen from the top of thedownchute.

The use of such a single downchute has been the controlling factor as tothe number of boats per unit of time which can be passed through theride. That is, boats must be dispatched from the loading station atintervals sufficient to assure that the boats are spaced apart adistance which prevents collisions of boats in the high speed downchuteportion. This dispatch interval affects the volume of people which maybe handled by the flume ride and thus significantly affects the incomeof the flume amusement ride operator.

Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide ahydroflume downchute structure which permits decreasing the dispatchinterval between boats in the flume ride without sacrificing the safetyof passengers riding in boats through the ride.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This and additional objects are accomplished bythe present invention wherein two separate adjacent water channels areprovided in the downchute portion and constructed to be substantiallyidentical. A gate is provided at the upstream side of the downchuteportion for alternately passing the boats through one downchute waterchannel and then the other. Thus, the boats spacing in the high-speeddownchute portion is maintained at a safe interval in each downchute butallows dispatch from the passenger loading station at approximatelyone-half that interval, thus increasing the capacity of the system by afactor of approximately two.

The two separate water channels include the steep portion and asubstantially flat run-out portion of a length sufficient to slow downthe boats prior to the two channels joining together into a single waterchannel. The boats are slowed down enough in the run-out portion of thetwo adjacent water channels so that the boats are again traveling at asafe slow speed when they are fed into a single downstream channel forcontinuation of the ride.

The gate means at the upstream side of the downchute segment of the rideincludes parallel wall members which are simultaneously moved aboutpivots attached to the water channel walls of the single water channelat the input to the downchute portion. Parallel gates hinged on theirupstream end minimize obstruction to the passage of a boat. This form ofgate is much improved over a type where a single gate is hinged atthedownstream end in mid-channel; Such a single gate would present anobstruction in the channel when swinging from one position to another.

Positive hold point brakes are also provided at various locations inorder to stop the boats from going down the downchute portion if therun-out channels are not clear for a sufficient distance ahead of theboats. The brakes provide the required margin of safety. The hold pointbrakes are pivotally attached to the side walls of the water channel andswing out into the channel to block the passage of the boattherethrough.

Additional objects, advantages and features of the various aspects ofthe present invention will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment thereof, which should be takeninconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a flumedownchute portion including two adjacent water channels according to thepresent invention; I

FIG. 2 is a side view of the downchute portion of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a section of the ride of FIG. 2 taken across section 3--3thereof;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the ride of FIG. 2 taken across section 44thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the ride of FIG. 2 taken across section5-5thereof;

FIG. 6 illustrates the upstream portion of the downchute segment of FIG.1 in an enlarged scale with added details;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the structure of FIG. 6 taken acrosssection 7-7 thereof;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the structure of FIG. 6 taken acrosssection 8-8 thereof; FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 6;FIG. 10 is a side view of the gate wall shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a view of the gate structure taken across section ll-ll ofFIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of FIG. 6 taken across section 12-12thereof;

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referringto FIGS. 15, the generalfeatures of the downchute portion of the ride embodying the variousaspects of the present invention is described. An upstream or entrancesegment 11 is at a high elevation and carries a boat which may bedirected into either one or two water channels 13 and 15 which includethe downchute portion of the flume ride. The boats are diverted from theentrance channel 11 into either of the adjacent waterchannels 13 or 15by a parallel gate structure 17 which is located at theupstream side ofthe two adjacent channels. The two channels 13 and 15 each containsimilar downchute portions at their upstream end which are followed attheir downstream ends by a run-out water channel segment which includesjumps 19 and 21. The two channels 13 and 15 are again joined together atthe end of the run-out section to direct boats into a single exitchannel 23.

It will be noted from FIG. that the construction of the boats, such as aboat 25, contemplated for use with this ride includes wheels on itsbottoms and its sides. Four wheels are provided on the bottom much likein an automobile, two of which are illustrated in FIG. 5 as wheels 27and 29. Two wheels are also provided on each side of the boat 25, onewheel 31 being illustrated on one side and another wheel 33 beingillustrated on the opposite side in FIG. 5. The purpose of the sidewheels such as the wheels 31 and 33 is to guide the boat within thechannel by providing a rolling contact with the side walls of the waterchannel. The take out wheels on the bottom of the boat 25, such as thewheels 27 and 29, serve a purpose of supporting the boat when the waterlevel in the water channel is insufficient to cause flotation of theboat 25.

It will be recognized from FIG. 2 that water flowing in the entrancechannel 11 from the left to the right of the view of FIG. 2 willincrease in velocity as it starts down the downchute portions of one ofthe water channels l3 and 15. As the velocity of the water increases,its depth decreases. It is provided that the boats ride on their wheelsin the downchute portion of the channels 13 and since the water depthdecreases as the velocity down the chute increases. The boats contactthe bottom of the downchute water channel at about point A asillustrated on FIG. 2 At the bottom B of the downchute portion the wateris at a maximum velocity and the water at a minimum depth. A set ofparallel tracks, such as tracks 35 and 37 in the channel 13, areprovided in the bottom of the water channels in order to provide asurface on which the bottom boat wheels may run.

The channels 13 and 15 are constructed so that the boat continues to runon its wheels at the bottom B of the downchute portion. The boatimmediately rides up onto tracks 39 and 41 of the jumpv 19 or similartracks of the jump 21. As the boat rides up on the tracks 39 and 41 ofthe channel 13, for. instance, the water flowing in the channel passesunder these tracks in a trough 43. The boat does not contact thewater'until it comes down from the jump 19 or 21, at about a point Cillustrated in FIG. 2. It is desired that the water in the channeldownstream from the jump be reduced in velocity from its maximumvelocity in the downchute portion so that the boat entering the wateragain will tend to plane in a thrilling manner and be slowed down beforeentering channel 23. A baffle arrangement in the water troughs under thetracks in the jumps 19 and 21 are utilized for this purpose. A baffle 45is illustrated under the tracks of the jump 13 in FIG. 4. By the timethat the boat floats again, the water speed has been slowed and thusserves to slow the boat down. The run-out section on the downstream sideof the jumps 19 and 21 are long enough to slow the boat down a desiredamount before the channels 13 and 15 come together at about point D(FIG. 1) into the single exit channel 23. The relative velocities ofboats and the water have thus been effectively varied after the jumpportion without physically removing the water from the channels 13 and15 as has been done in some single channel downchute system builtheretofore.

Referring primarily to FIG. 6, the operation of the gate 17, the use ofboat controlling brakes and the construction of the water channelsthemselves is described. The first brake that a boat approaches as itproceeds near the downchute portion of theflume ride is a boatseparation brake 47, thisbrake being described in detail hereinafterwith respect to FIG. 12. The second brake that the boat approaches is ahold point brake 49, which is located upstream of the boat divertinggate 17. On the downstream side of the gate 17 is a hold point brake 51located in the waterchannel 13. Another hold point brake 53 is providedin the channel 15 on the downstream side of the boat diverting gate 17.The hold point brakes 49, 51 and 53 are described hereinafter in moredetail with respect to FIGS. 13 and 14. It will be noted that all fourof the brakes illustrated in FIGS. 6 as well as the boat diverting gate17 are located on a gently downsloping section of water channel prior tothe steep downchute portions of the water channel 13 and 15. Thesebrakes thus help to space and separate the boats prior to their entryinto the downchute portions of the ride.

Occasionally boats will be blocked at the top of the downchute portionby closure of the brake 49 in response to some condition that makes itundesirable to pass a boat therethrough. When a number of boats, soblocked, accumulate, it is desirable to bypass the water from a positionthat would normally be behind the last boat of a line of boats to aposition in front of the first boat of the line. Such as'bypass channel55, illustrated in FIG. 6, is provided adjacent the entrance channel 11.Water flows from the bypass channel 55 through an opening 57 and intochannel 11 in the vicinity of the hold point brake 49. Such a by-passchannel 55 is necessary to prevent overflow of water from a channelblocked by boats. An entrance (not shown) to the bypass channel 55 at anopposite end is in the form of an aperture in a side of the entrancechannel 11 a distance above its bottom so when the water level rises dueto the blockage of boats, water overflows into the channel 55 to becarried around the accumulated boats.

As can be seen generally from FIG. 6, the gate 17 has two distinctpositions, one shown in solid lines wherein a boat is directed from thechannel 11 into the channel 13 and the other position shown in dottedoutline wherein a boat is directed from the channel 11 into the channel15. The main components of the gate 17 are parallel wall structures 59and 61. The wall structure 59 is mounted on one side wall of theentrance channel 11 by a pin 63 in a manner to be pivotable about thepin 63. Similarly, the wall structure 61 is attached to the oppositeside wall of the channel 11 by a pivotable pin 65. A rod 67 extendsbetween the two gate wall portions 59 and 61 at a level immediatelyadjacent the bottom of the channel so that the wall portions 59 and 61will be moved together. Air cylinders 69 and 71 are directly connectedto move the gate wall portions 59 and 61, respectively. A verticallyextending post 73 is mounted in the water channel at the junction of thewater channels 13 and and serves as the extreme stop of the gates 59 and61 as they are swung outward into the channel. It will also be notedthat an indentation 75 is provided in a water channel side wall forreceiving the gate wall portion 59 in a manner to permit a boat to passfreely by the gate along a flush side. Similarly, an indentation 77 isprovided in the opposite water channel wall for receiving the gate wallmember 61.

It will be noticed from FIG. 6 that by the particular operation of theparallel gate walls 59 and 61, the gate itself does not contribute toblocking passage of boats if a boat happens to enter the gate as it ismoving from one position to another. The boat in such a position willmerely be moved along with the gate to the new position thereof. 0

With respect to FIGS. 9-11, certain additional details of the gatestructure 17 are illustrated. FIG. 9, of course, shows the gate wallmember 59 in solid lines in its opposite distinct position from thatshown in FIG. 6. Each of the gate walls is constructed of a plurality ofhorizontally extending and parallel rigid strips 79. The strips 79 areheld together in a spaced relationship by a plurality of verticallyextending members such as the structural member 81 of FIG" 10. An angleiron 83 is attached to the ends of the members 79 for engaging the post73. A cable 85 is provided in tension between the gate wall member 59and the pivot support post 63 in order to maintain a structurally rigidgate 59. This structure of the gate 59 is preferred over a solid wallstructure since it is lighter and can be more easily moved through waterin the water channel.

Referring again to FIG. 6, boat guiding members 87 and 89 are providedin conjunction with the gate wall members 59 and 61, respectively. Theboat guiding members 87 and 89 are attached to opposite walls of theentrance channel 11 at pivots 91 and 93. The structure and function ofthese boat guiding members is best illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 whereinthe boat guiding member 87 is shown. A pin-like member 93 extendingvertically across the gate 59 traps the edges of strips of the boatguiding member 87 so that the member 87 moves with movement of the gate59. The boat guiding member 87 presents a more smooth side wall to aboat when a gate member such as the member 59 is in the solid positionshown in FIG. 9. Without the member 87, it can be seen from FIG. 9 thata very sharp abutment would exist that might prevent a boat passingthrough the boat transfer gate structure smoothly. When the gate wall 59is in its dotted position, as shown in FIG. 9, the member 87 serves as amere straight line extension thereof since a notch 95 is provided in allof the members 79 of the gate 59 fornesting of a vertical structuremember of the boat guide member 87.

Referring to FIG. 12, the boat spacing brake 47 is illustrated. A brakemember 97 is designed for frictionally contacting the bottom of boatspassing thereover. An air cylinder 99 provides motion to a lever arm 101which is attached to a shaft 103 that rotates. In response to rotationof the shaft 103, the brake 97 is brought upwards from the bottom of thechannel to frictionally contact the bottom of the boat for the purposeof holding it temporarily. The length of the arm holding the brakemember 97 is, of course, related to the size of the boat and the waterdepth maintained in the channel 11.

Hold point brakes 49, 51 and 53 of FIG. 6 are illustrated in detail inplan and side views, respectively, in FIGS. 13 and 14. A pivot rod 105of one half of the brake member is attached to a wall of the channel inwhich the brake is installed. Horizontally extending arms 107 and 109rotate from the dotted position shown in FIG. 13 against the side wallto a position shown in solid line in FIG. 13 extending across thechannel and substantially perpendicular to its wall. An air cylinder 111provides such motion. A soft rubberlike bumper 113 extends verticallybetween the support rods 107 and 109. Also, a roller 115 is heldhorizontally between the rods 107 and 109' and is the operable elementof the brake which is furthest removed from the brake member supportingwall. Thus if a boat is part a way through the brake position asitbegins to operate, the roller 115 will permit the boat to continuemoving. If the brake is operated to close off the channel to boattraffic prior to a boat reaching the brake position, it will engate thesoft bumpers 113 and will thus be stopped until the brake is opened. Asthe brake is opening, the boat may move forward and roll along theroller 115. As is shown in FIG. 6, each of the hold point brakes 49, 51and 53 includes two brake operating members of the type of FIGS. 13 and14 which are installed on opposite walls of the water channels in whichthey are provided.

The operation of the various brakes and of the gate 17 are preferablycontrolled by an automatic system in order, of course, to save labor andalso to be more reliable from a safety standpoint than can be providedby human control. An indication of the presence of boats in the entrancechannel, the adjacent parallel channels 13 and 15, and in the exitchannel 23 are provided by some sensing mechanism such as a light sourceand photocell sensor. Referring again to FIG. 6, a sensor 117 isprovided adjacent the channel 13 a short distance upstream of the holdpoint brake 51. Similarly, a sensor 119 is provided adjacent the channel15. These sensors emit a signal when a boat reaches them in theirrespective channels. When a boat reaches the sensor 117, for instance,the gate 17 is then enabled for movement from its solid position shownto its dotted position so that the next boat will be directed down thewater channel 15. The sensors 117 and 119 indicate when a boat hascleared the gate area 17.

Similar types of sensors are preferably provided at the end of therun-out section of the respective channels 15 and 13 such as near theends thereof. These sensors enable opening of their respective holdpoint brakes 51 and 53. A boat must be sensed to have passed one ofthese lower sensors before a brake in the same channel will allowanother boat to pass. This maintains proper boat spacing in thedangerous downchute'area.

The hold point brake 49 in the entrance channel 11 is closed when it issensed that the system downstream thereof is blocked. This accumulatesthe incoming boats behind the gate 49 until the downstream channel issensed to be clear so that boats may again be directed downstream. Whenthe brake 49 opens after an accumulation of boats has been heldtherebehind, the seperator brake 47 is operated to re-space the boats atproper intervals.

The various aspects of the present invention have been described withrespect to a preferred embodiment of a flume amusement boat ride but itwill be understood that the invention is entitled to protection with thefull scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a flume amusement boat ride having a water channel with boatguiding walls therealong and a normal downhill slope along a significantportion of the ride that is sufficient to carry water at a velocity tomove passenger boats down the water trough, an improvement comprising:

two adjacent alternate channel paths connecting at one end thereof to asingle channel for receiving a boat from the single channel into eitherof said alternate paths, another end of each of the alternate pathsbeing again joined together for directing boats travelling througheither of said two alternate paths into a single water channel, each ofsaid two adjacent paths having a steep downchute portion adjacent saidone end with a slope significantly greater than said normal downhillslope, said downchute portion of each of the two adjacent pathsconnecting at their lower ends with a flatter runout portion for slowingdown boats prior to their entry into said common output water channel,whereby the amusement boats are accelerated into the downchute portionand slowed down in the run-out portions of the two adjacent alternatechannel paths, and

gate means at said one end of the two adjacent paths for controlling thepassage of a boat from the entrance water channel into either one of twoadjacent alternate channel paths.

2. The improved flume amusement boat ride of claim 1 wherein said gatemeans includes parallel wall members, one gate wall pivotably attachedat one end to one single channel entrance wall while the other gate wallis pivotably attached at one end to an opposite single channel entrancewall, said gate walls being swingable in a parallel manner between sidewalls of said two adjacent paths.

3. The improved flume amusement boat ride of claim 2 wherein said gatewalls are constructed of substantially horizontal members with openspaces therebetween.

4. The improved flume amusement boat ride of claim 1 wherein at leastthree hold-point brakes are provided for controllably stopping the boatsin said channels, a first hold point brake in said single entrancechannel upstream from said gate means, and one hold point brake providedin each of said two adjacent channel paths a distance downstream fromsaid gate means sufficient to accommodate and hold one boat while stillpermitting the gate to operate.

5. The improved flume amusement boat ride of claim 4 wherein at leastone of said hold point brakes comprises a pair of gates pivotablymounted to the channel side walls and operable between a brake-offposition wherein said gates are held adjacent said channel walls and abrake-on position wherein said gates are pivoted into a position acrosssaid channel, thereby to block the path of a boat travelling therealong.

6. The improved flume amusement boat ride according to claim 1 whereinthe boats include wheels on the bottom thereof and further wherein thedownchute portion of each of said two adjacent channel paths includesparallel tracks for carrying the wheels, the water in each of thechannels being carried by the downchute portion into the run-out portionwherein the boats again contact water and are slowed down thereby.

7. The improved flume amusement boat ride according to claim 6 whereinsaid run-out portion additionally includes the track portions formedinto a jump which rise above the lowest level of the end of thedownchute and then back down without sufficient water flowing to float aboat until the boat reaches a position downstream of said track jumpportion, said amusement boat ride additionally including a channelthereunder for carrying water coming down the downchute and for slowingit down so that the water at the downstream side of the jump portionwill be slow enough to slow down a boat which again floats.

1. In a flume amusement boat ride having a water channel with boatguiding walls therealong and a normal downhill slope along a significantportion of the ride that is sufficient to carry water at a velocity tomove passenger boats down the water trough, an improvement comprising:two adjacent alternate channel paths connecting at one end thereof to asingle channel for receiving a boat from the single channel into eitherof said alternate paths, another end of each of the alternate pathsbeing again joined together for directing boats travelling througheither of said two alternate paths into a single water channel, each ofsaid two adjacent paths having a steep downchute portion adjacent saidone end with a slope significantly greater than said normal downhillslope, said downchute portion of each of the two adjacent pathsconnecting at their lower ends with a flatter run-out portion forslowing down boats prior to their entry into said common output waterchannel, whereby the amusement boats are accelerated into the downchuteportion and slowed down in the run-out portions of the two adjacentalternate channel paths, and gate means at said one end of the twoadjacent paths for controlling the passage of a boat from the entrancewater channel into either one of two adjacent alternate channel paths.2. The improved flume amusement boat ride of claim 1 wherein said gatemeans includes parallel wall members, one gate wall pivotably attachedat one end to one single channel entrance wall while the other gate wallis pivotably attached at one end to an opposite single channel entrancewall, said gate walls being swingable in a parallel manner between sidewalls of said two adjacent paths.
 3. The improved flume amusement boatride of claim 2 wherein said gate walls are constructed of substantiallyhorizontal members with open spaces therebetween.
 4. The improved flumeamusement boat ride of claim 1 wherein at least three hold-point brakesare provided for controllably stopping the boats in said channels, afirst hold point brake in said single entrance channel upstream fromsaid gate means, and one hold point brake provided in each of said twoadjacent channel paths a distance downstream from said gate meanssufficient to accommodate and hold one boat while still permitting thegate to operate.
 5. The improved flume amusement boat ride of claim 4wherein at least one of said hold point brakes comprises a pair of gatespivotably mounted to the channel side walls and operable between abrake-off position wherein said gates are held adjacent said channelwalls and a brake-on position wherein said gates are pivoted into aposition across said channel, thereby to block the path of a boattravelling therealong.
 6. The improved flume amusement boat rideaccording to claim 1 wherein the boats include wheels on the bottomthereof and further wherein the downchute portion of each of said twoadjacent channel paths includes parallel tracks for carrying the wheels,the water in each of the channels being carried by the downchute portioninto the run-out portion wherein the boats again contact water and areslowed down thereby.
 7. The improved flume amusement boat ride accordingto claim 6 wherein said run-out portion additionally includes the trackportions formed into a jump which rise above the lowest level of the endof the downchute and then back down without sufficient water flowing tofloat a boat until the boat reaches a position downstream of said trackjump portion, said amusement boat ride additionally including a channelthereunder for carrying water coming down the downchute and for slowingit down so that the water at the downstream side of the jump portionwill be slow enough to slow down a boat which again floats.